Chapter 1058 Positive and Negative Examples
Chapter 1058 Positive and Negative Examples
The weather is getting colder, but the battlefield is getting hotter.
Shao Xun, who lived in the old house of the Le family in Yuyang, received news: Tao Kan led an army of "tens of thousands" from Yiyang to the north, invaded Runan, and divided his troops into four parts to plunder.
The Di and Qiang tribes responded to the Wu people and killed county officials, causing chaos in the southern part of Runan and the southwestern part of Ruyin.
Shao Xun did not give orders beyond his level. He wanted to see how his eldest nephew would handle it.
Tao Kan's tactic of avoiding the real issue and attacking the fake one was quite good. He should have long been eyeing the Di and Qiang people who were forcibly relocated and full of resentment. He had been holding back until now and was waiting for this moment to take action.
But in Shao Xun's opinion, it didn't make much sense. Can you still make Runan and Ruyin counties surrender? What's more, he has assembled a reserve force in Yingchuan.
He no longer worries about military affairs, and now mainly handles political affairs.
In the courtyard of Le's house, he looked at the list in his hand, smiling without saying a word.
Sitting in front of him were many sons of wealthy families from various counties in northern Jing. Among them were not only the aristocratic families listed in the genealogy, but also many local tyrants who had no access to the social ladder, or families that were once listed in the genealogy of the aristocracy but later slipped down the social ladder.
As far as Nanyang County is concerned, the Le family is now the leader, followed by the Liu family. These two families are far ahead, and the rest are mediocre.
For example, the Duyang Han family is the family of Han Shou, who "stole the fragrance" and became Jia Chong's son-in-law. They are a bit miserable, with few people and almost no hope of reviving their family. Now they have attached themselves to the Le family.
Their family claimed to be the descendants of Han Tuidang, but Shao Xun didn't quite believe it. Could it be made up?
Another example is the Wancheng Wu family, the legitimate descendants of Wu Han, but now they are just small local tyrants, not even at the top of the Le family's "henchmen", and can barely get one son recommended.
Other large families during the Later Han Dynasty, such as the Jiyang Cen family (descendants of Cen Peng), the Jiyang Ma family (descendants of Ma Cheng), the Xinye Cao family (descendants of Cao Jie), the Xinye Yin family (family of Yin Lihua), the Xinye Lai family (descendants of Lai She), and the Xinye Deng family (descendants of Deng Yu), basically all declined.
The Deng family was the one that held out the longest, until the Cao Wei period. Deng Yang, He Yan, and Ding Mi were insulted as the "Three Dogs of Taichung". Later, with the surrender of Cao Shuang, Deng Yang's three clans were exterminated, and they finally could not hold out any longer.
On the contrary, the marginal members of the Deng family who moved to other places still had some development, such as Deng Ai, who lived near Xinye but could not clearly explain his family background, and Deng You, whose ancestors moved to Pingyang to serve as officials.
The descendants of Yin Lihua's family persisted until the time of Cao Cao, but later they could no longer hold on.
Other families fell into decline even earlier, and many were unable to join the ranks of the aristocratic families.
Of course, these families still exist tenaciously and have not been completely destroyed. Some of them can even revive and recreate their glory, such as the Cen and Deng families.
But their situation ultimately illustrates one thing: the world is ever-changing, so is there any certainty of prosperity or decline?
"Where is Deng Tao?" Shao Xun suddenly asked.
"Your Majesty, I am here." A man who was almost pushed into a corner apologized repeatedly, stumbled to the front and bowed to the ground.
"Deng Shizai was a famous official after all. It is a tragedy that his descendants have fallen to such a state. Please sit down." Shao Xun said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Deng Tao's heart was pounding and he sat down.
"After your father died in Xiangyang, did you return to Jiyang?" Shao Xun asked.
"Yes."
"Are you familiar with Deng Yue from Xiangyang?"
"We have met several times." Deng Tao said, "Deng Boshan's father was an official in Chen County. During the Yongjia period, the country was in turmoil. Deng Yue first went to Nanyang and then to Jingzhou to serve as an official for Wang Dun."
"Can you persuade him to surrender?"
Deng Tao groaned inwardly. They knew each other, but were they friends? It was not a real friendship.
But it was not easy to say anything more at this time, so I just said, "I'm willing to try my best."
Shao Xun saw the expression on his face and knew that there was little hope, so he stopped asking questions.
Deng Tao felt a little disappointed because the emperor didn't give him an official position.
Shao Xun continued to look at the list, and as he read, something in his mind moved.
******
It's quite tiring to be so hypocritical for the whole morning.
Shao Xun accepted some of the young men on the list as officials, but he did not appoint them immediately. They still had to be examined by the Ministry of Personnel and wait for vacancies.
To put it bluntly, it's not very important.
The purpose of meeting these people today is to let the nobles of Nanyang know who owns the world, who can benefit you, and who can decide your fate.
Apart from that, to be honest, these powerful families do not have much value in united front work, and we will have to take a swipe at them when land is measured in the future.
"No one is coming from Xiangyang?" Shao Xun was rocking on the recliner after his afternoon nap. Le Lanji, smiling, sat next to him and asked softly.
"Yunwen will capture the person." Shao Xun said.
"What do you mean by 'capture'? You should use 'invite'." Lan Ji said with a smile, "If they are willing to surrender, Deng Yue and Mao Bao will have no more men to recruit and no more food to eat. If they don't want to die, they have no choice but to surrender."
Shao Xun hummed lightly.
The crisp laughter coming from next door was from the concubines who accompanied the emperor.
The Nanyang Le family also prepared some women from the clan, but they were all sent away.
Shao Xun couldn't even satisfy the ferocious Liu Ye, so he was too lazy to get involved with other women.
It’s actually quite nice to stay with Lan Ji and recuperate.
"In fact, the momentum of this march south is already very strong." Lan Ji stood up, pinched Shao Xun's shoulders, and said, "With so many soldiers and horses, no one is not afraid. If Liu Cong, Shi Le, Tuoba Yulu and others march south, the nobles of Jingzhou may still resist stubbornly, but Your Majesty is from Zhongxia, not a refugee leader. No one is willing to ruin their family to help the country, so just wait quietly."
"Yes." Shao Xun said, "So before the battle, I decided to besiege Xiangyang but not attack it, but to shake people's hearts."
"At this point, as long as we don't make any mistakes, we won't lose." Le Lanji said, "At worst, we still have the North."
"The beauty is very insightful." Shao Xun grabbed Le Lanji's hand and said with a smile.
"You're already this old..." Le Lanji chuckled.
As the two were talking about this, Tong Qianjin quietly reported from outside: "Your Majesty, Wang Bing requests to see the emperor."
"Let him in." Shao Xun said. Le Lanji gently pulled her hand away and left for the time being.
Wang Bing entered quickly and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I have returned from Zhonglu County."
"How to say?"
"Kuai Heng and Tao Kan used to be generals under Liu Hong. Now they are being marginalized, so they are willing to surrender," said Wang Bing.
Shao Xun nodded slightly.
Why was Wang Bing sent? Because the Wang family of Donghai had an alliance with the Kuai family of Xiangyang. Although this was a matter of Wang Bing's grandfather's generation, there was still a reason for him to be introduced. The wife of Kuai Qin, the Shaofu of Jin Hongxun and the prefect of Nanyang, was the daughter of Wang Su and the sister of Wang Yuanji. Kuai Qin died during the reign of Emperor Hui of Jin, but he had many descendants and was still alive.
The Kuai Heng he mentioned was a military officer when Liu Hong was stationed in Jingzhou.
At that time, Zhang Chang rebelled, and the troops in Xiangyang and Wancheng were defeated. The Jin court replaced the generals and reused Liu Hong.
Liu Hong then appointed Tao Kan, the chief of the Southern Barbarians, as the Grand Protector General, and appointed the military officer Kuai Heng as the "Protector of the Righteous Army", and appointed the guard general Pi Chu as the commander-in-chief. They defeated Zhang Chang and killed more than 10,000 people.
From Kuai Heng's title at the time, "the commander of the righteous army", we can see that he led his own private army, but his combat effectiveness was stronger than that of the imperial army. It also shows that as the local tyrant of Xiangyang, Kuai's strength was still very strong.
After the war, Kuai Heng was rewarded for his merits and was appointed as the magistrate of Shandu County (a county under the jurisdiction of Xiangyang County), and his power quickly expanded to this area.
However, his career ended there.
When Wang Dun took office, he needed his help in resisting Lekai of Nanyang, so he appointed him as a Zhonglang.
After Wang Dun's death, because Shandu County was almost abandoned in the repeated tug-of-war, the Kuai family was unwilling to contribute anymore, so they became disgusted with Tao Kan and no longer used him.
More than 10,000 Xianbei cavalry had crossed the river from west of Fancheng, and the vanguard had arrived in Zhonglu County. After Wang Bing came to persuade them, Kuai had nothing to insist on and surrendered directly.
"Immediately appoint Kuai Heng as the governor of Xiangyang." Shao Xun ordered: "Wang Qing needs to go there in person to deliver the official uniform and seal."
"I obey your order." Wang Bing responded.
As he said this, he secretly glanced at Shao Xun out of the corner of his eye.
Once upon a time, they were colleagues.
At that time, Shao Xun was the Lieutenant Sima of Donghai State, which was only an eighth-rank official, while Wang Bing was the General of the Lower Army, which was the sixth-rank official.
Now, he was just a small water officer in the Mianbei government, while Shao Xun was the emperor of Daliang. Moreover, he also got the mistress, Concubine Pei, which made people jealous.
"Go ahead." Shao Xun waved his hand.
Wang Bing bowed and left. After he left, the Minister of War, Wei Zhan, arrived.
"Daoshu, why are you so worried?" Shao Xun asked with a smile.
"I sent my nephews to Jiangxia, but my nephew ridiculed me for being stingy." Wei Zhan said with a wry smile.
Shao Xun laughed and said, "You are the left chancellor of the Ministry of War. You are very careful in allocating food and equipment. You have never given them away indiscriminately. I really rely on you."
"I didn't expect your majesty to praise me so highly." Wei Zhan bowed his hands and said, "I am your nephew Li Chong. I returned to my hometown from Jianye with my mother at the beginning of the year. The reason I came back is that I have never been able to find an official position. I can't help myself if I stay, so I bid farewell to my good friends and return with my mother."
Shao Xun nodded repeatedly after hearing this.
The Jiangxia Li family is the descendant of Li Tong from the late Han Dynasty.
When Wei Zhan was an official in Luoyang, he became friends with his colleague Li Ju (not Li Ju from Pingyang), so he married his sister Wei Suo to him.
Li Ju later became the governor of Jiangzhou, but perhaps due to unfamiliarity with the climate and climate there, he died young while in office.
Li Ju and Lady Wei had a son, Li Chong.
The Li family is still very powerful in Jiangxia, and is very special——
Shao Xun asked, "I heard that when Li Chong Li Maozeng (Li Chong's uncle, not Li Chong from Luoyang) was a minister, he criticized the current situation and believed that the number of slaves, servants, and guests of the wealthy families should be limited, and the common people should be prohibited from selling their land and houses. Is this true?"
"It is true." Wei Zhan pondered for a moment and said, "His son Xin also did not take up an official post, and he came back with him this time."
"What a great Li, quite to my liking." Shao Xun praised: "Li Tong of the Han Dynasty was loyal, brave, and chaste, and his grandchildren still have such insight, so they should be reused."
Wei Zhan’s eyelids jumped.
From what Your Majesty said, the Jiangxia Li family has a good future as long as they are willing to surrender.
Thinking of this, he immediately said: "Although my nephew mocked me, he also understood the general situation and was willing to surrender with his whole family. He just needed the royal army to send troops to support him."
Upon hearing this, Shao Xun laughed and clapped his hands, saying, "This is easy. I will immediately send an order for the Left Flying Dragon Guard to go south from Sui County to support Li."
"Your Majesty is wise." Wei Zhan breathed a sigh of relief.
Shao Xun was also very satisfied.
The "800,000" army is approaching, and the momentum is so magnificent. If it is supplemented by political warfare, it will be successful in everything.
Of course, there are benefits for the Kuai family of Xiangyang and the Li family of Jiangxia to surrender quickly.
Those who throw slowly will be sent to the table, no doubt about it.
Perhaps, he should set an example of both positive and negative aspects.
Somebody reported last time that the Liao family (Liao Hua family), who was the leading family in Miannan during the Han Dynasty, was unwilling to surrender, so don't blame him for being cruel and ruthless.
Once both positive and negative examples are established, the war may go more smoothly.
Thinking of this, he finally decided to do some micro-management.
(End of this chapter)